Patient transports or gurneys are used to simplify the task of moving patients within medical treatment centers. While these systems are useful for general mobility, there are treatments, especially when the patient is to be maneuvered during treatment by a robot or other controllable fixture, where more precise placement and registration of the patient and the patient support are needed. In the context of robotically assisted surgery, a patient support is often referred to as a robotic couch.
The use of robots for maneuvering and/or precisely positioning a patient are becoming increasingly wide spread as the use of robotic surgery systems increase. Robotic surgery systems offered, for example, by Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, Calif.) as well as robotic radiosurgery systems offered, for example, by Accuray, Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) are illustrative of the need within the field for precise placement of an immobilized patient. Millimeter and sub-millimeter accuracy requirements are required in certain circumstances. Some procedures, such as the application of therapeutic particle beams, now and in the future may require ever more accuracy in patient positioning.
As the development and use of robotic assisted treatment systems continues, it is likely that the need for every more precise patient positioning and registration of the immobilized patient relative to the robotic system will continue. In view of this progression in the field of robotically assisted surgery, there remains a need for improved patient transport systems suited for interaction with robotic systems. In addition, as robotic couches become more prevalent there is a need to provide a secure base for attachment to the gurney and consistent location to facilitate interaction with a robotic system.